NIGERIAN IDOL: HOW EVELLE WON ETISALAT's TOP PRIZE!

Last week Saturday would always remain indelible in the mind of Evelle, for that was the day she was crowned the fourth Nigerian Idol, thus taking home Etisalat’s top prize of a brand new Hyundai SUV.

The young girl was ecstatic as she was declared the winner of the show at the grand finale held in Lagos.

Who would blame her? The road to this final moment wasn’t so rosy as thousands of talented people auditioned for the show, sponsored by Etisalat and at the end of the day, she became the Idol.

The grand finale gala event was an evening of fun. The Optima Studio, Omole (Lagos) was filled to its capacity. Everybody wanted to catch a glimpse of the finalists and watch as the winner emerged.

They didn’t need to wait too long as comedian, Bovi, came on the stage and cracked some ribs with his humorous jokes. Tension eased a bit but fans of the two finalists were still anxious to get to the end of the show so that their choice could be announced.

However, it still wasn’t time for that golden moment as a dance group, Dance na the Main Thing, came on the stage again and wowed everybody with their dexterity on the dance floor.

Thereafter, one of the judges, Dare, also had a superlative performance, showing guests that he too was a product of a reality show. His performance must have triggered the male contestants’ performance for they also rendered a classy show.

Eventually, it was time for the finalists to perform. Eye D came on the stage and dazzled everybody with her smile as well as her dance steps as she also rendered a wonderful performance.

But when Evelle came on the stage, there was thunderous applause. Shouts of ‘Evelle! Evelle!’ filled the auditorium.

But the young lady didn’t allow that appreciation to distract her. She went ahead to render an earth-shattering performance that everybody got up to give her a standing ovation.

Nneka, one of the judges, couldn’t hide her emotions as she shed tears after Evelle’s performance.

The moment to announce the winner still drew near but Ill Rymes, the host, delayed that moment by announcing the performance of last year’s Idol’s winner, Moses.

Even as much as Moses tried his best to impress the crowd, little attention was given to him as everybody was warming up to hear the end result. But their anxiety was paused for a while as Tuface Idibia came on the stage to perform. Tubaba gave a repertoire of his hit songs back to back and once again, the hall erupted.

Finally, the moment everybody was waiting for, came. The auditorium was tensed. The hall was silent that the sound of a pin dropping on the ground would have been heard.

Ill Rymes already had an envelope which contained the name of the winner in his hand. After a little bit of dillydallying, he eventually announced Evelle as the next Nigerian Idol.

The young girl went crazy! She couldn’t control herself as she jumped from one corner of the stage to the other. The hall was frenzy. People jumped to the stage to congratulate her. Her fans who wore T-shirts with inscription, ‘Vote Evelle’ also came on the stage to show solidarity.